At its April 23 meeting the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium board of directors approved an agreement with The Jockey Club to engage the full-time services of Jamie Haydon as RMTC interim executive director.

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee announced Feb. 24 it has postponed implementing a ban on race-day medication in graded stakes races for 2-year-olds in 2012.

An industry consortium supports administration of Salix by regulatory veterinarians only and a ban on adjunct bleeder drugs, but will continue to study a pilot program proposal to ban the use of race-day Salix in 2-year-olds.

As expected the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium board of directors said April 20 it will join the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners in organizing a drug summit.

Industry organizations including the National Thoroughbred Racing Association will propose an international summit on equine medication this year in the wake of calls for the race-day ban of anti-bleeding drugs.

In an announcement that could meet with disagreement with some horsemen's groups and perhaps others, the Association of Racing Commissioners International has called for a five-year phase-out of equine medication in racing.

Laboratories that test samples for the presence of drugs in California, Delaware, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and other states have signed letters of intent to submit to accreditation.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium has lowered the testing threshold level for phenylbutazone, a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, but has kept the administration time at 24 hours prior to a race.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International is looking at extending the cutoff time for use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in racehorses beyond 24 hours prior to a race, but horsemen's groups claim the action is premature.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium board of directors has approved new national laboratory standards for testing, the implementation of a laboratory accreditation program and a new independent Equine Quality Assurance Program.

The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association said July 1 it plans to be more involved as the racing industry considers medication and drug-testing policies horsemen believe could be detrimental and counterproductive.

The International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities Advisory Council on Prohibited Substances and representatives of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recently met in Lexington during the 75th convention of the Association of Racing Commissioners International and were sponsored by The Jockey Club.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium is developing protocol designed to streamline and improve equine drug-testing in the United States. And it is taking a few pages from a 1991 study that didn't gain any traction in the racing industry when it was released.

Michigan horse racing commissioner Christine C. White April 1 gave notice to the state's horse racing industry that effective immediately, the presence of anabolic steroids will be prohibited in all horses entered to race at any pari-mutuel track in Michigan.

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, trainer Michael Matz, and owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, have invited the public to attend a presentation by Dr. Lawrence R. Soma of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's New Bolton Center and Dr. Scot Waterman of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

The horseracing industry will continue with a serious push to enact reforms related to equine safety and drug testing, officials indicated Aug. 17 during and after The Jockey Club Round Table in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The complicated nature of regulating anabolic steroids in racehorses came to light May 20 when discussion among members of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council and others seemed to indicate the easiest route is an all-out ban on the substances.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is prepared for "every potential outcome" on Preakness Stakes (gr. I) day, but no matter the result, developments in the area of equine health and welfare in the coming weeks and months are of the utmost importance, the organization's president and chief executive officer said.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium sponsored an equine racing chemist workshop to foster uniformity in drug testing of the androgenic anabolic steroids from April 27-30 at the University of California at Davis.

The ongoing process of regulating anabolic steroids in racehorses may have turned a corner March 25 when the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium made changes to its model rule. State regulators, however, remain concerned about funding for increased testing.

The board of directors of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC), in consultation with the RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee, approved policy recommendations for the use of steroids. The action took place at an RMTC board meeting March 25 Austin, Texas.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium will hold its spring board of directors meeting March 25 in conjunction with the Association of Racing Commissioners International annual convention in Austin, Texas.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium has funded a research project to study threshold levels and withdrawal times of four approved anabolic steroids. But the timing of the study, which should be completed by August, could make it difficult for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to implement steroid regulations in the state by Jan. 1, 2009.

After the Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee struck down the Louisiana State Racing Commission's adoption of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium model rules for medication Feb. 11, the commission is yet to decide its next move.

National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and chief executive officer Alex Waldrop has been asked to testify in Washington, D.C., during a hearing titled "Drugs in Sports: Compromising the Health of Athletes and Undermining the Integrity of Competition."